frugal

Stock up in January – the list you need for big savings! Sales after Christmas are fantastic and it is a great time to fill your pantry and save on household items you use during the year. January is a great time to evaluate our food storage, toiletries and stored items; and get them all organized. Then we’ll know exactly what we need to stock up in January during the sales.

Stock Up In January List

Remember if you find free or deeply discounted items that you don’t use, consider donating them!

But never bring home and store something just because it is free or cheap.

Remember My Stocking Up Tips for January

Stores run sales in cycles and often they will post lost-leaders (losing money on an item) to get you into the store in hopes that you’ll buy more.

Make sure you need it! See above about donating vs storing an item you never really use or need.

Do you have space for more stock-ups? Organize, evaluate and list before shopping.

Don’t be tempted by a good sale – know what you need!

Check expiration dates first! Are you going to use these food items by or before the expiration date? Organize your pantry by earliest to latest expiration dates.

When it comes to non-food items, the best ones have multiple purposes!

Don’t spend it all in one place – plan to shop several stores and sales for the best deals.

Don’t forget online shopping – free shipping is often available and saves you gas and time.

Don’t blow your monthly budget! No sale is worth not being able to pay your regular bills!

Consider purchasing an inexpensive Food Saver to increase your storage time and put things is smaller increments; great for big bulk buying and work for pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

Frugal food and grocery tips – how to be more frugal in 2019! This is the first article in my series on living more frugally next year. Today I want to give you my top 20 frugal food and grocery tips. I hope these help you to make some better choices for your finances and health in the new year!

What does it mean to be frugal?

Webster’s dictionary defines frugal as: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources. But MY definition of frugal or frugality is being a good steward of the finances you’ve been giving. Meaning, you live within your means, you are not in debt (especially to credit cards), you save money and you have enough left to help your church or charities close to your heart.

What being frugal DOESN’T mean!

Being more frugal isn’t all about denial and not enjoying life. It doesn’t mean you never have fun, go out to eat or see a movie in a theater. I mean, sure, it can mean that but it really doesn’t have to. In the early days of frugal living you may feel like it is all about denial; but it is more about re-prioritizing!

Frugal Food and Grocery Tips

Grow a garden. Even if you have limited space you can grow vegetables and herbs for a fraction of the store-bought cost.

Buy in Bulk. Especially when things are at rock-bottom prices. For instance you may not need 6 lbs of ground beef for a meal but you can take that big bulk package and section it into 1 lbs portions and freeze them for later use.

Learn Shopping Sale Cycles. Stores run sales in cycles and this is when you want to stock up on those items, and store for later use. See my Stock Up in November and Stock Up in December for lists to get you started!

Be VERY Careful With Coupons. I know most thrifty shoppers will tell you to use coupons but I have found that most people will buy a lot of crap they don’t really eat or use (or shouldn’t be eating or using) because of a coupon. Which brings me to another point…

Eat Real Food. This may be the best advice in my frugal food and grocery tips! There are a lot of reasons to stop eating stuff from boxes and packages but let’s just stick to the monetary reason here. Real food (not processed) will keep you fuller because it is nutrient dense. This means you’ll be consuming less and need to BUY less.

Eat Leftovers. This isn’t rocket science but I see too many people throwing away good food. I purposefully cook a little extra at dinner so that we have good food to eat for lunches (and sometimes breakfast). Leftovers are typically a lot less expensive than lunch meats, frozen or boxed meals; and a HUGE savings over eating out!

Learn to Cook! I mean really learn to cook from scratch with whole foods. This skill seems to be lost on my generation and younger. I don’t understand it because not only does it taste better it is more nutritious (generally) and you definitely save money. See: 10 Amazing Reasons to Be Cooking from Scratch.

Make a Menu. Frugal food and grocery tips don’t get much easier than this! We get paid twice a month at our house. So I generally make a 2 week menu out before payday. I first look at the calendar to see our commitments for the week. If I know we have days where I’ll be out of the house most of day then I’m going to plan a crock pot or fast Instant Pot meal. Too often people let they busy life dictate eating out all the time; that’s a planning issue! Again if you plan to make a little extra dinner then you have great leftovers for lunch the next day. See Great Depression Meals You Can Make Today & Save Money.

Don’t Shop Without a Budget! Do you know what your food and grocery budget is? If you don’t have one set then you need to stop and get that done NOW! I also suggest shopping with a calculator and adding up your purchases as you put them in your cart. This way you won’t be surprised at the end. I always round UP as I add in items (so if the price is $4.79 I put $5.00 in the calculator).

Don’t Shop Without a List! Once you have that menu and a budget you need a list of the EXACT items that you need. Shop ONLY from the list and don’t be swayed by grocery store impulse buys. It helps to shop alone too because kids and spouses can get you off track. Being single minded and don’t get anything that isn’t on that list!

Make Coffee At Home. Seriously, it isn’t that hard to brew coffee and you can even whip it up to make it more like fancy coffee house drinks for a fraction of the cost. Make time to do this in the morning! Many coffee brewers have a feature to brew at a certain time so you can prepare it the night before and wake up to a full pot! See: 5 Ways to Brew Coffee at Home

Use Generic Label Products. If you have to buy something that is packaged don’t be afraid to use generic labels. They are produced by the same high-end facilities but don’t have the HUGE marketing costs so you pay less. The quality and taste are the same for the most part.

Share Bulk Items. If you are buying in bulk but have no means to freeze, can or store the items consider sharing them with friends, family or neighbors. You split the cost of the items and still enjoy the bulk discount.

Visit a Pick Your Own Farm. If you can’t grow it yourself, consider going straight to the source for your produce. Farmers and orchards will sometimes offer pick-your-own produce at a fraction of the cost because this cuts out the middle man. See: Pick Your Own for a list of farms doing this in your area.

Join a Buying Coop. Another easy frugal food and grocery tip is to check out coops like Bountiful Baskets. They can save you money on healthy, and often organic, produce by collectively buying in bulk and distributing it among the members.

When Eating Out… Let’s be realistic, you’re probably going to eat out from time to time. So number 16 for frugal food and grocery tips is about eating out. Most restaurants offer a discounted menu during early dinner times, generally Monday – Thursday. So if you want a treat meal plan a weekday meal before 6:00 pm.

Drink Water. It is amazing how quickly sodas, pre-made teas and other drinks add up on the grocery bill. Stick to water – not only will this save you money but it is healthier too.

DIY Spice Mixes. Instead of buying those pre-made envelopes or jars of mixed spices, make them yourself. You can store them in old spice jars or mason jars for later use. See: DIY Taco Seasoning and DIY Spice Rubs.

Have a No-Buy Day or Week. Once you’ve budgeted, planned and shopped it should be easier to stop making daily or weekly trips to the grocery store. This emergency shopping generally blows your budget so if you find that you have to keep making pit stops then you need to re-evaluate your budget and your menu so that you have enough to last through the period of time you have allotted. When it comes to frugal food and grocery tips you’ll get better with practice.

Have More Potlucks! My last of the frugal food and grocery tips has to do with parties and gatherings. As I write this we are in full Christmas party season. If you are hosting a gathering don’t feel like you have to provide ALL the food. Make a menu and ask people to sign up or tell them what main dish you’re making and ask for a savory or sweet side dish.

I hope these simple suggestions help you in your journey to a more frugal way of life. Living frugally isn’t about denial but using what we have to go the long haul and not always feeling like money is the enemy.

What are your favorite frugal food and grocery tips? Let me know in the comment section!

I have 15 simple to save your grocery budget – and maybe still have a bit left at the end of the month! If your house is like ours, groceries are a large part of your household budget. If you’re eating “healthier” then your budget is bound to grow even more.

15 Ways to Save Your Grocery Budget

#1 – Start cooking more: We are busy people and we, as a nation, seem to be unable to say no. So many obligations often make it hard for us to be home to cook and eat a meal. But cooking saves money, health and families.

#2 – Plan it out: I like to take a calendar with our activities on it and make a meal plans around that. Then I can transfer that plan into a grocery list. Plan for success – don’t schedule to make Chicken Cordon Bleu when you have a practice at 6:00 pm and you are done with work and/or school at 5:00 pm. Throw a crock pot dish in that morning then toss a salad and put it in the fridge. That way you can enjoy dinner without a drive thru on the way to practice.

#3 – Shop sales and buy in bulk: Grocery store sales have cycles. That means every product that goes on sale will be at its lowest price about every 6 weeks. Stock up on the items then and you’ll pay the lowest price and not need to shop for it again until the next cycle. Stores like Sam’s Club and Costco are good for bulk buying but generally sales are better deals if you can track them and bulk up then; especially if you have coupons.

What We Can Learn From Extreme Cheapskates

I know some cheapskates… My friend in Texas started talking about taking light bulbs out of her fridge and putting bricks in all her toilets. She spent an entire phone conversation talking about all these weird and interesting ways to save money. Finally she tells me that she’s been watching this show on Netflix called Extreme Cheapskates.

Well a few days go by and I decide that I need to watch an episode of this show. So I pull up Season 1 on Netflix and welcome in the crazy. I’m like an observer of a train wreck that can’t overt her eyes as much as she wants to. In a matter a week my husband and I watch all 7 episodes and the pilot.

I have to tell you that when the man started filling his old ketchup bottle with packets from restaurants, I had to laugh. I still remember feeling embarrassed when my grandmother would clean out the packets of sugar and Sweet & Low from our table at any restaurant. I don’t think that woman paid for sweeteners for years!

Episode 1 – diving for food in gourmet grocery store’s trash.

Now when they say extreme…they are not kidding. I want to be frugal but I am not eating out of a dumpster anytime soon. I am not picking out a refillable soda cup and popcorn bag at the movies either; I’d sooner go without. But if TLC had a show called Kind of Thrifty People not a lot of people would tune in for that. So cashing in on their Extreme Couponing success they bring in the the dumpster divers.

As extreme as many of the people are in the show there are some really good tips, that anyone could put into use, thrown in there too. For instance 2 of their extremist suggest saving the last bits of soap and putting them into a clean soak or pantyhose and using that to scrub your hands. Ok, sure, you might not want that in your guest bathroom; but what about at your utility sink or where your husband cleans up after completing your “honey-do” list? You don’t want his dirty fingers all over your pretty soaps!

Another man picks up change where ever he finds it. After a year’s worth of collecting he takes his family out to eat on purely what he found in change. Now I would take that change to the bank, and not use a plastic bag full of coins to pay for a meal…but that’s meal. Maybe you don’t want to save for one meal out; but what if you saved that same money and bought a family in need some groceries or a gift card for Christmas gifts? What lessons would this teach your children? I know I used to get a quarter from the Tooth Fairy and I was happy…I see parents giving $5, $10 or even $20 for a tooth. YIKES!

Yet another husband and father haggles for everything. Now I don’t know about you but I’m uncomfortable trying to talk down a price on most things but maybe it is worth a try. I have a family member that never misses asking about specials and coupons wherever they eat or shop; and it works about 80% of the time!

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